


It's Not A Place

by SaraJaye



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Callback, Friendship/Love, Gen, Homelessness, Introspection, Loyalty, Selfless Rita
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 02:32:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17931158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Maybe they're just not meant to find a home. And maybe that's okay.





	It's Not A Place

**Author's Note:**

> 088 - here

They almost had a real one this time. A nice little house with a big yard, lots of trees, nice people who loved animals. Runt was in heaven running around that yard, Rita found herself a few spots to curl up and get some sunlight, and no one cared if either of them curled up to take a nap on a chair or knocked a book off the table.

But the little one's allergic to cats. She cried, everyone else was disappointed, and that was that.

Rita was ready to let Runt go, just like he'd been that time with Katrina and her dad and he'd missed the train. She'd given all that up just for him, and he'd _remembered._ The big dope who couldn't remember where they'd woken up that morning, he remembered something that happened _months_ ago.

_Dummy. You could've had a home, they loved you, they let you sleep on the furniture, but you gave it all up._

Cats are supposed to be selfish, it's why her owners kept getting rid of her. Selfish, stuck-up, ruined the furniture, too hip for the room. Humans want cute, fuzzy, mindless little things to play with. Living pillows to cuddle them after a bad day. Someone who worships the ground they walk on.

Right now, she's probably the most selfish she's ever been, because even if Runt was a big dummy for giving up probably his only chance at a real home, she's glad he stayed with her. It's why she gave up Katrina and her dad for him. Runt called her sweet, selfless, even, but the truth was she just didn't want to be anywhere he wasn't.

He's a dog. A big, dumb dog who can't even remember her species. He's loud, he's always getting in trouble, eats like a pig, and he snores. Cats and dogs are supposed to be mortal enemies, and even if he were a cat he'd be the kind who got on her nerves. Sometimes he does.

But heaven help her, she can't imagine life without him. Somehow, this big dumb mutt's the most important thing in the world to her, even more than a home.

No, she realizes, the big dumb mutt _is_ her home. Who cares if they're sleeping in a bus stop, on a cold hard bench? Home's not a place, it's a feeling. And Runt _is_ that feeling.

He paws at her head in his sleep, murmuring that she's a "good dog, a real good dog."

"So're you, buddy," she sighs, curling up closer to his furry body. Here, right next to someone she cares about, her only real friend. _That's_ a home.

They're a package deal, and until they find a place that gets it or where no one's allergic or one doesn't have to stay behind to fight Nazis, this is how it's gonna be.


End file.
